SECURITY forces will keep a close watch on the nation’s borders in the coming weeks to prevent illegal entry, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said. 

He said he was concerned that illegal immigrants would try to slip into the country after the Hari Raya season. 

“We fear that illegal immigrants from nearby countries will return, especially when the manufacturing and other sectors reopen after the Hari Raya holidays,” he said today during a daily press briefing.

So we have issued instructions to enforcement agencies that are guarding the border, including illegal routes, to further tighten border security,” the defence minister said during his daily press conference in Putrajaya.

Ismail said the combined efforts of the various security agencies led to the arrest of 287 foreigners and 28 skippers while they were trying to enter Malaysia illegally.
 
He said those illegal immigrants were nabbed at the west coast of the peninsula, the Malaysia-Thailand border, the Sarawak-Indonesia border as well as the Sabah east coast.

The authorities have also evicted 29 illegal immigrants and three boats trying to slip thorugh the border.

“They are not only intruders but they could also be carriers of Covid-19 who could spread the virus to our people.

“The government through its enforcement agencies will continue to exercise strict border control.” – May 23, 2020.